


On The Run

by IncarnadineQueen



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance, Shameless Self-Indulgence, lets hop on that mando dong, mostly romance, slow but fast burn (?), thirsty for the mandalorian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:01:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21887827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncarnadineQueen/pseuds/IncarnadineQueen
Summary: The Mandalorian and his child take on jobs to survive, one job turns the stomach of the stoic bounty hunter and leads to their small family taking in another member.Hastily written while Im thirsty for Mandalorian romantic sexy times.
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 124





	1. The Knight in Shining Armor

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, enjoy the first chapter, no sexy times (yet). I like my smut with a little emotional back story.

On the run, always on the run. It’s hard to get around when anyone you meet might be waiting to take you back where you came from. It’s guaranteed that he will have a hefty payment for anyone willing to return her. And it’s equally guaranteed that the hefty payment will only go to the best of the best. But a Mandalorian is a surprise.

He is straight from her nightmares. Stalking through the busy market as she threads through people, glancing back to the bright shine of his silver armor. He’s gaining on her, but his casual stride and fluid motions bely his hidden strength. She could run as fast as a speeder and he would still find her, still catch her, and still win his prize.

She has been in this city for a few days and visited the market area only twice before today. The stalls force her to take indirect paths and people with their baskets delay her at every turn. Still the hunter comes closer. A break in the foot traffic gives her the opportunity to run, she dodges the few people in the way and slips into a narrow alley.

The back door to a restaurant is open, she flies through the kitchen. Cooking staff hardly acknowledge her, restaurant patrons don’t bother to look up from their bowls as she flies between tables and out of the front door. Not bothering to look back for the armored man, she follows streets and alleys out of the town, over a small footbridge, and into the woods. The sound of running water is the only thing she can hear aside from the pounding of her feet and heart.

The abandoned cottage she has been squatting in is not far, it’s overgrown with plants and lacks most of the roof. But it has provided enough shelter from the windy nights that she has stayed.She ventured into the city today to buy new clothes and to shower at a bathhouse. It's a luxury she has not allowed herself in the weeks since she left. Now she regrets it. She might feel and smell fresh, but the price to pay is too high. 

Her lungs gulp down breaths as she sinks into a corner. She has blankets piled up; stolen from a laundry line. For some reason she wants to return the, now that she will have no more use of them. The man in shining armor steps into the cottage. At first his quarry is nowhere to be found, the overgrowth of plants covers many of the corners and nooks. It’s only a matter of time.

The sound of footsteps pound the ground and he turns just in time to see her bolt out of the door. He has her now, there is no way she will get away. Not that she had a chance to begin with. He gives chase, this time running full tilt into the trees where her trail leads. She does not get much farther than a few meters from the cottage before she is thrown to the ground. Her screech of terror is cut short by him collapsimg on top of her. His weight does not stay long, she rolls to kick at him but he has her wrists in binders and is pulling her up before she can react.

“NO!” 

“You are coming with me.”

“I can’t. You have to-” She struggles but his hand is a vice around her arm. “Ah!”

He pulls her with him, striding farther from her cottage.

“No, please. I can’t go with you. Just let me go, you don’t understand!”

No response. Just the firm grip on her upper arm and the sound of their trudging through the undergrowth.

“You’re disgusting. Doing this just for pay, what is he giving you?” She tries to look up into his face but he pushes her ahead of him, his helmet shields him from her gaze anyway. “I could work for you, I could make payments, just don’t take me back. Please.”

He remains silent, unmoved by her begging. She lets out a frustrated scream that devolves into a despairing wail.

“Is there really nothing I can do? I have no money, but I could try to get some.”

An old space ship comes into view. It’s small and run down. It looks like it is barely able to fly. The loading ramp lowers as they approach and another rush of adrenaline has her fighting him again.

“Get in.” He says when she plants her feet at the edge of the ramp.

“No, I won’t go willingly.”

Without any discernible reaction the bounty hunter wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her up as her feet scramble for purchase.

“Stop! No!”

He gets her inside and shoves her just enough to have time to turn around and hit the panel to close the ship. Her eyes catch sight of a frozen figure of a man; his enraged shout solidified for his journey with the bounty hunter. She backs away, butting up against the wall and turning deeper into the hold.

He appears in front of her but in a confusing turn of events he releases the cuffs on her wrists.

“Climb the ladder.” 

She makes no move to climb; dumbfounded. His hands clench and unclench and a discernable slump to his shoulders sets in. He guides her by her shoulders to the bottom of the ladder.

“Climb.”

This time she responds to his demand. But pauses at the first rung, hesitant, she has never climbed anything like this before. And the awkwardness of having her ass in his face is a sensation she would rather do without. With a quick glance behind her she pulls herself up. He takes no notice of her less than expert climbing skills and follows her with ease.

Once they are in the cockpit he sits her down in a passenger chair and takes his own seat.

“Are you taking me right back?”

No answer.

“I think I would rather you freeze me.” She adds ‘ _ Or kill me.’ _ under her breath.

The ship lifts into the air and the Mandalorian lays in their course for hyperspace. Meanwhile the woman has a silent mental breakdown. She had finally gotten away and was working on a plan that would keep her safe. It’s all gone now and there’s nothing she can do. Tears fall down her face as the hyperdrive is activated, blue light gleaming off of her cheeks.

The hunter sits facing away from her even after his ship’s system has taken over their faster than light travel. He checks various monitors and even listens to several transmissions. It’s easy to ignore the crying woman behind him. He’s seen it all. Tears, anger, jokesters, and even the ones that try to off themselves. They all usually end up in carbonite, but she is a special request. No damage, no carbonite. Those were the rules. She is wanted back alive and unharmed. 

20 minutes in, her quiet sobs are broken by a terrified shriek.

“What is that?!” Her feet squeeze up onto the chair as she struggles to look down at the ground. 

The hunter already knows what it is, and turns around to pick up the small child that has once again broken out of his holding compartment and has wandered into the cockpit. He can’t blame the little one, he usually lets him ride in the very seat his bounty is sitting in.

Her eyes follow their every movement. The tiny creature in the man’s hands is like a baby, it’s somehow ugly but also the most adorable thing she has ever seen. The baby coos up at the helmeted head of the bounty hunter which shakes back and forth as if to berate it.

“I...what is it?” She asks, finally relaxing and letting her legs down onto the floor. “Is it a baby? It looks like it. What, did you steal that too?”

The child struggles to turn and look at her, it’s ears flipping back as she speaks. The bounty hunter turns it around and sets it on his knee. It makes a delighted soft wail at her and blinks its large eyes.

“Hello.” She says, hoping to comfort it, though it seems perfectly content in the lap of the hunter.

He sets the baby down in the other chair and turns back around to check the ship instruments again. This is a welcome distraction for her, the inevitability of her doom is pushed aside by the adorable bundle that has already started climbing down off of the chair. She watches as it drops to the ground and picks itself up. The unsteady waddle it uses to approach her melts her heart.

“Be careful with him.” The hunter says.

The child shouts up at her from her feet. Well, it’s not quite a shout as much as it is a demanding cry coupled with a pout. She looks at the back of the bounty hunter, he remains facing away from her. Satisfied that he won’t stop her, she picks up the baby and sets him on her lap. 

Up close, she can see the light feathery hairs on his head and the rim of green-brown iris in the huge eyes. She gives the button nose a light tap with a finger, and the baby reaches a three-fingered hand out to grasp it. When he tries to put the finger in her mouth, she smiles. It’s the first time she has smiled in a long time. It’s unfamiliar and out of place in her current situation.

The child and the woman occupy each other for most of the trip. Their conversation, consisting of incoherent babble and sounds of delighted adoration, has been somewhat interesting; he has turned to watch them several times. Even now he simply allows his bounty to enjoy her last bits of freedom. The child seems to like her attention. Which is good, seeing as it can become quite demanding of him. Not that it’s something to complain about.

She has taken to petting the long ears, they lift upward as her fingers reach the ends, then settle down again when she lets go. When the hunter turns in his chair the child’s ears flick back, but he remains engrossed in his observation of her. He makes several attempts at pulling her hair, which she has managed to tie back behind her neck. When that fails he moves on to climbing up her body to grasp at the hair that hangs around her face. 

An alert indicates that they are almost to their destination. She had not made it very far from her origin so the trip is short. She clutches the child to her chest; staring wide-eyed as they leave hyperspace.

“You don’t have to do this.” She says to his back. He says nothing, only continuing to navigate them to a landing area.

The sun has just risen and it is still morning when they arrive at the desination.

Mando stands and takes the child from her grasp, she let’s go but looks past him to the buildings outside the ship. 

“Come.” He says, she follows. 

At the bottom of the ladder, he places the child into an alcove covered in blankets and lit from the inside. At the press of a button a door slides shut, locking the precious prisoner inside. He turns around and heads toward the ramp controls on the other side of the room. She grabs at him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. 

“Please, wait. Please. Don’t take me in. I will give you payment.”

“I thought you already said you don’t have any money.” 

“I don’t but...I just can’t…” She catches herself before she can sob into his back. Her cheeks burn in shame as her body is fully pressed against him, clinging to the very man who is taking her to her doom. With a deep intake of breath she moves a hand down his armored chest and past his belt to feel at the front of his heavy pants. 

It’s all or nothing, and this is her only option. Through the layers of thick fabric, she feels with careful fingers. He is not in the least bit aroused, but she cups him with enough pressure to make her intent clear.

His body tenses, but he does not allow this for long. A large hand snaps around her wrist then drags her in front of him.

“Stop it.”

“Please, please don’t. I can’t go back. I have nothing you could want. There is nothing else I could offer you, but I can’t go there.” He lets her pull out of his grip while she begs. Her eyes brim with tears as she stares down at his boots.

His hands grasp her shoulders. He is not harsh, but he keeps her in place. Time slows once again and she can only imagine what he is thinking. Several beats pass before he pushes her aside. She tenses, anticipating being shoved against the wall. Instead he releases her, moving to hit the panel to open the ramp on the ship. Morning sunlight hits her watery eyes and ice fills her veins. 

“I know it’s your job, and that you finish your jobs. You were probably told that I did something wrong and ran.” She speaks softer now. “I’m not a criminal.”

“Bring you in alive without carbonite, directly to the requestor.” He says, reciting the instructions for her capture.

“You can’t take me to him. Please, you don’t know what he will do to me.”

“That’s not my problem.” He gestures at her to move down the ramp, when she doesn’t he grasps her elbow and tugs her along.

He had set the Razor Crest down just outside of the governor’s estate. This planet used to be run by the Empire, it’s now ruled solely by one man. The man he is delivering this woman to. No questions asked.

This kind of request is not common, but not entirely unusual, especially for wanted criminals who have committed crimes having to do with local government. White-collar mostly.She is silent on the trip from his ship to the gates. Her gaze never leaves the ground and the last few of her tears dry before they can fall. She has given up, and now her mind is building its defenses. 

The gate guards know who she is, but she avoids acknowledging their gazes. It’s easy for them to conclude that the armored man is the bounty hunter that took the rather lucrative job of bringing her back.

“Go straight up, he’s waiting for you.”

Mando nods then tugs on her arm once again when her feet stay in place. She stumbles forward, unwilling to comply, but completely overpowered and out of options. As the gates clang closed, the defensive walls around her mind are complete.

The curved path up to the mansion-sized home is surrounded by grass and ferns. It’s picturesque and would be a paradise to live in. She likens this place to a tortuous prison. They reach the house and are greeted immediately.

“Inside, to the left.” A uniformed man, law enforcement on this planet, directs Mando through the double doors. 

The home is more modern than outward appearance would lead people to believe. The white walls and shining floors give it a clinical feeling. But, instead of medical beds, the rooms are filled with everyday furniture and sterile decor.

Following the directions, Mando leads his bounty down a short hall. At the end, another set of double doors is guarded by two more uniformed officers. He pulls her closer when one of the guards reaches for her other arm. The officers share a glance with each other but let him through. 

The wide room is mostly barren. A silver metal desk is set in the middle, behind it is a large window overlooking a water feature. Sunlight glints and dances over the walls, refracted by the water and glass.

The doors close behind them; with the guards on the inside. From the right another man steps in through a small doorway.

“Ah, my angel delivered back to me.” He is tall with greying hair and bright eyes. He has a face that can be considered attractive despite his age. A permanent smile is etched into his features. He approaches the woman with his arms out as if to embrace her, but Mando is still gripping her by her upper arm. “I have been so worried.”

“The payment.”

The man stops short and directs a smile at the bounty hunter, acknowledging him for the first time. 

“Of course. And a handsome payment it is.” He steps around his desk and presses an intercom button. “Bring it in.”

Mando removes his hand from the woman, but she makes no move to join the governor. He looks down at her, the stony expression she presents is unchanged from when they left the ship. Strands of her long hair have fallen into her face; even they have no effect on her unyielding stare into nothingness. It’s a drastic change from the dramatic begging and attempts to fight him.

The governor moves over to her again, this time Mando lets him. The helmeted head follows every movement the governor makes, watching him grab the womans’ wrist and lead her closer to his desk. During this time two more officers enter the room through the side door with two camtonos. Mando accepts a proffered one, but the second officer does not release the other.

“Let me take a look at you.” The governor runs his hands over the woman’s shoulders, then lifts her chin to inspect her face. “I specifically requested that you are not to be hurt. He didn’t hurt you did he?”

Her eyes close and her head shakes in a gentle side to side motion restrained by the grasp he has on her chin.

“I see that you have returned her to me without injury.” He addresses Mando, “I thank you for that.” He looks to her then, leaning in close to talk in her ear. “You should thank him. I could have asked for you back frozen in carbonite. I hope you realize that, if there is a next time, I will not be as lenient.” 

Though they are intended for her, the words are spoken just loud enough for the Mandalorian to hear. Her fist clenches. There is only silence. Before Mando can demand the rest of the payment the governor forces her in front of him.

“Thank. Him.”

“Thank you.” Her voice is dead and her eyes water from the hand at the back of her neck pulling on her hair. 

“The rest.” Mando’s tone is impatient.

“Good girl.” The governor says and pats her shoulder, then waves over the officer with the second camtono. “I trust that the payment is to your satisfaction. And I also thank you for returning my future wife to me. I would be lost without her.”

The statement is shocking but the hardened bounty hunter takes his prize without hesitation. The strange interactions between the governor and the woman had him believing something like this is the case, or that she is a runaway daughter. With one last look at her, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped, he turns around to be escorted out.

Back on the ship, the camtonos are stored away in the bolt-locker, and the green child watches from his open alcove. Mando does not fully understand how the child is able to open it without access to the controls, but as long as he is here and safe, that is all that matters.

He closes the ramp and starts to climb the ladder, but a cry stops him. The child has stepped out onto the floor and is now staring at the closed door. The ears perk up then droop as another soft cry leaves him.

“What?” Mando picks him up and sets him back in the alcove. They stare at each other. He sighs. 

He climbs the ladder up to the cockpit to engage the engines and the old ship rises into the sky.

High above the planet he seeks new destinations with a sluggish effort, shaking off whatever strange feelings he has from the delivery of the bounty. Before long the inevitable presence of the child appears at his back, soft cooing and sounds of curious excitement reach his ears. He turns around in the chair and lifts the child off of the floor to set him in the seat behind the pilot.

“You know where to go next?” 

The child babbles in reply. 

“Yeah, I don’t know either.” A loud cry pierces his ears. Mando lets out one more defeated sigh.


	2. The Prodigal Bounty Hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A great escape is made.

Cool evening air rushes through the window blowing the sheer curtains aside and sending a chill up her spine. The sun’s light is dimmed and the trees that line the rear of the estate are now tall shadows blending into the night sky. She lies facing away from the window on a low bed and adjusts her pillow to move away from the damp spot where her tears have collected. It’s dramatic; crying while wearing a beautiful gown next to an open window, wishing a savior would vault into the room and whisk her away. 

After she was returned to this hell-pit of a mansion many long hours earlier, the Governor announced that they would be married that week. Two days from now to be exact. Her disappearing act made him think that forcing her to marry him would somehow persuade her to stay. He had not been as violent towards her as she expected. His punishment is the massive jeweled ring on her finger and the promise that she will never get away again.

She shivers, not from the cold, even though the breeze has caused goosebumps to rise on her arms. Pale light coming from outside of her room filters in through the open door. Several times she wanted to rise and close it but standing up and walking the few feet feels impossible. She draws in a deep breath and shuts her eyes, when she lets the air out of her lungs the light in the room is dimmed to almost nothing. Her brows draw together and she lifts her head to look past the foot of the bed toward the door. 

Standing in front of the now closed door is the armored bounty hunter from earlier. She is slow to make any reaction, unsure he is even there, perhaps she fell into a dream and the hunter is back to chase her down and throw her to the ground again. She sits up fully and backs away from him, pressing up against the wall. He leans as if he is going to step forward but settles back on his heels again. A gloved finger rises to the front of his helmet, then his other hand reaches out and flexes his fingers in a gesture for her to come to him.

She narrows her eyes and makes no move. He points to her, then to him, and then to the window. She is still wary, but now she moves off of the bed, her light halter dress glinting with silver ornamentation in the pale light coming from the now visible full moon. Instead of going straight toward him she turns around and opens her armoire, pulling out a deep blue hooded cloak. The only shoes she has are either heeled or are jeweled sandals, she chooses sandals. Her thoughts fly so fast she does not even realize she is standing in front of him until he moves toward her again. His hand turns her by her shoulders to the window that had been mostly blocked by the door when it was open. 

“Wait.” She whispers, “You are taking me with you?” The situation is finally catching up to her.

He nods.

“Just a moment.” She spins around toward another door in the room. “One second, just wait.”

When she emerges she is carrying a black velvet sack, small enough to conceal inside her cloak but large enough for some necessities. She loops the handle around her shoulder. The hunter had kept his sight out the window, watching for guards, now that it is time to go he looks over her. There is not much they can do to conceal her glinting shoes, but her hair and dress are hidden. He takes his own cloak over his shoulders and throws the hood up. She does so with her hood as well, realizing that the silver ornaments the handmaidens had put into it earlier would give her away. 

He crouches at the window sill and puts up a hand telling her to wait. After a scan of the area he motions for her to follow him. He vaults out of the room then turns to assist her. Her dress skirt is above her knees at the front, but long in the back. That, paired with the cloak, makes it difficult to clear the sill. Once out of the room, they crouch low against the building and the hunter fiddles with some of the controls on his wrist. His hand pats her shoulder then points out to the treeline. He holds three fingers up, then two, then one. He jerks her to her feet by her elbow, his favored place to grab her it seems, and pulls her along beside him as they run.

They duck into brush for cover just as the forested area becomes dense enough. She watches him take out a slender tube and hold it up to the narrow visor on his helmet. He scans the area they came from, then turns around and looks into the forest while fiddling with the armor over his forearm again. 

“Follow me.” He says, still crouched down as much as he can be he starts off into the forest. She follows. He is able to move with ease between branches and bushes, even with his cloak flowing around him. Hers catches on branches and her feet crack every stick and leaf possible. Each sound she makes causes her to cringe, at one particularly loud snap of a twig the hunter looks back at her with what she can only guess is exasperation. She shrugs back.

They continue, stopping as they go every once in a while to scan the area and dart to the next collection of bushes. 

“Do you think he knows you are gone yet?”

“No, he’s been gone all day, probably won’t be back for a few hours more. The handmaids left me alone an hour ago and I am sure they will not check on me for a while.” 

“We run from here, the Razor Crest isn’t far.”

“The what?” She asks, but he is already jogging ahead, she catches up when he pauses at the edge of a clearing. From here she can see a ship, it’s the one he dragged her onto before. Now she can notice the paint markings are wearing off and the silver body that shines in the moonlight is dented and scratched. More important than the ship are the uniformed men standing beside it; their lights illuminating the entry panel.

“Your friends?” The hunter asks in a hushed tone.

“Not at all.”

He nods, still watching them as the ship creaks and the ramp descends. With a motion for her to stay put he rises and approaches his ship, the group of officers do not notice him as they move up the ramp and into the hold. 

“Get out.”

They all turn toward the voice behind them, the hunter stands at the bottom of the ramp poised to take them on. One of them steps forward, the stripes on his sleeve indicate his elevated rank among the others.

“You are on the governor’s land Mando. Your business is finished here, why have you come back?” 

“I was looking for a place to land that’s out of the way. I‘ll leave.”

“Where did you come from just now?”

“Leave my ship and there won’t be any trouble.”

Another officer steps up to the leader and whispers to him.

“Make another visit to the Governor’s residence bounty hunter?” He draws his weapon and the others follow suit. “Where is she?”

The Mandalorian has the low ground, but it’s his advantage that they are on his home turf - so to speak. He dives to the side while at the same time activating the loading ramp from the controls at his wrist. The few shots that the officers fire miss him entirely and he ducks under the ship. Two make it out before the ramp seals them inside and he makes quick work of them by firing his side arm when they attempt to follow him. It’s not long before the ramp begins opening again. He goes to the docking ring on the underside and opens it, this allows him to get inside the ship as the other officers are exiting. 

He fires into the backs of two of them and they go down, but before he can fire again he is caught from behind. A thick arm goes around his neck and a hand bats his weapon away. A seventh officer had already been inside, hidden from his sight before now. At the base of the ramp the two remaining officers keep their weapons raised but do not fire for fear of hitting their own man. 

The woman watches with baited breath from her cover, she thought six-on-one was too much for him, but he proved to be clever and quick. The one that grabbed him from behind might be his downfall, especially with the other two stepping up the ramp toward him. He pushes off one wall with his leg and sends the larger man behind him into the opposite wall. It’s enough to get his arm free and bring it forward, two small whistling projectiles sail through the air and straight into the chests of the two officers on the ramp. 

The struggle resumes inside the ship, with the two of them pushing and shoving. Mando is able to get away from him and they start throwing punches left and right. His helmet and armor block most of the impacts but a particularly well-angled punch sends him reeling backward into the wall with a clang. Two hands grab at his head in an attempt to remove the helmet, he catches the officer’s wrists and struggles against the clearly physically stronger opponent. A sharp crack is heard and the man falls forward into the hunter’s chest, behind him stands the woman, breathing heavy, with a large branch in her hands.

The large officer groans and stands to resume his fight but the Mandalorian has had enough time to recover and shoves him into another wall head first. This time his opponent is dazed long enough for him to grab his discarded weapon and fire it straight into the officer’s chest.

The body falls forward between them, they pant and stare at it, then at one another.

“We should probably go.” She says.

He bends down to grab the arms of the fallen man and drags him out of the ship. He dumps all of the officers at the bottom of the ramp and ascends, smashing the panel to close it. He races up the ladder and into the pilot’s seat, flipping switches and engaging the systems. The ship is already rising into the air by the time she has made it up the ladder and into a passenger seat.

“Can’t they track us in this?”

“Not once we hit hyperspace.” The ship lurches forward as main engines engage to get them out of the planet’s atmosphere, as soon as artificial gravity activates he pulls the lever to engage hyperspace.

She breathes a sigh of relief at having left the planet behind. So many more questions swarm in her mind, but she can’t bring herself to ask them. Her rush of adrenaline will take a while to wear off, in the mean-time she stares at his back. Before long she can feel a gentle tugging on her cloak, looking down she can see the strange green child staring up at her. Once again it cries up at her with a soft voice. 

“You again, where were you during all of that?” She lifts the child onto her lap, then lowers the hood of her cloak. The chubby cheeks are pushed up as the child gives an open mouth smile it’s ears flick up and back when the bounty hunter turns around in his chair.

He stares at the pair in the passenger seat and the woman looks back at him. For a minute they rest in the blue glow of hyperspace before she breaks the silence.

“Thank you. For coming back for me. I owe you so much, and I will make sure I repay you.” She takes hold of the child’s hand as it reaches up to tangle in her long hair. “Is there anything you need?”

She can tell nothing from him, his armored body and covered head do much to hide what he is thinking. She can imagine his training has taught him not to give anything away, but after a moment of staring she catches one of his hands lift up to reach toward her. It hovers above his knee for a moment then drops away. With a huff he turns around again and fiddles with more settings.

“I am going to jump us around to some ports then head farther away, it should throw them off our trail for a while.” He says, his voice strained.

She would respond but she just now notices the child has been playing with her long necklace. It dips down in the valley of her breasts between the two strips of bunched fabric that make up the front of her dress. Little green hands pull at the dress, nearly exposing her in their search for the shiny object.

“Here.” She says, and removes the necklace. “I don’t need it anyway.”

As soon as the child grabs it the silvery beads are shoved into the little mouth, she pulls it out again.

“No, don’t eat it.” She smiles, the child gives her an indignant questioning gaze and she hands the necklace back. “Do you have a name, hunter?”

“Most call me Mando.” He replies without turning around. It’s not a real name, but she makes no judgement about it.

“My name is Rana. What about this one?”

“He has no name.”

“Oh.” She pulls the necklace out of his mouth again. “You have to call him something.”

They sit in silence for a while more while Mando jumps them through a few port tower ranges; just enough to register on their radar before leaving again. The last time he makes a jump he turns around in the chair.

“I should show you around and make you a place to sleep. We will be at our destination in a few hours.” They both stand, he stares at the child in her arms as he brushes past. At least she thinks that’s what he’s looking at. She glances down and she is sufficiently covered, but barely. No reason to be embarrassed now, she groped him earlier in the day and would have been humiliated at his rejection if the circumstances were different. If only it were easy to forget.

He shows her back down the ladder, stating that his sleeping quarters are just next to the cockpit. Everything she needs is packed near the vac-tube and he shows her how to put the child to bed inside of its compartment.

“That seems kind of...sad.”

His head turns toward her.

“Well, just locking him in there, it has to be lonely and boring.” 

“It’s safe.”

“I guess so, but while I am around he won’t be locked up.” She places the child into the alcove but does not let the hunter close it off, then follows him to a small doorway. It’s a forward compartment, curved like the front of the ship. It has various containers and boxes, but there is enough room to open up a cot. Which he does, it’s low to the ground but sturdy.. He provides her with a number of blankets a few of which can be folded up into a pillow. The only light is dim, but it can be controlled from the inside of the room.

“No door?”

“Stolen.”

“Someone stole your door?”

He sighs. 

“This ship has been through a lot.” He stands in the doorway looking back at her in the small room. “Get some sleep, I will get us to a safe spot.” He turns to go but before he can get anywhere she grabs his arm, he tenses but turns back to her.

“Thank you.” She looks into his visor. “I know I said it earlier, but I feel like I need it to be more meaningful.”

She’s close enough that he can look down into her face and analyze her features. Her age is late 20s or early 30s, fine lines have only just begun to set in and her hair is lustrous. She has sun-touched skin that highlights the pale teal of her dress. The planet she lived on is temperate to warm, so the light dress would be appropriate there. Here, in the coldness of space she is out of place. She would look appropriate on a high-end pleasure barge in a dune sea rather than on his small run-down ship. It’s the kind of life he just saved her form, or so he imagines.

She seems to be doing a similar assessment, only she can’t look into his face or see anything other than padded layers of cloth and polished beskar. He is sturdy but not bulky, she could tell when he was fighting that he is strong. Before she can let her imagination get carried away he back up.

“Good night.” He says with a nod.

She watches him fly up the ladder with a grace she will never have then presses a hand over her chest. Down at her feet the small green child looks up at her with wanting eyes. She picks him up and brings him into the storage room with her. Once they are in the cot snuggled up together, with the child safely out of the way of her rolling over onto him, she whispers goodnight. Her eyes close for only a moment before sleep claims her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no sexy times, but next chapter Rana gets heated and our poor bounty hunter is taken by surprise.  
> Once again, posted without going over it more than a couple of times, mistakes will be made. You can point them out and I may or may not correct them. I'm working on other, larger projects, but I am having so much fun with this one you can expect another update sooner rather than later.
> 
> I hope the Mandalorian names our green baby after our fallen friend, Kuiil. Cause even if they don't I'm leaning this direction for fic-headcanon.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will be up when I get around to it. Which, judging by how much I want to write this, it shouldn't take too long.


End file.
